Flyers Rumors: Konecny Camp Asking For Insane Contract

With 33 goals and 68 points this season, Travis Konecny continues to establish himself, for now, as the most valuable player on the Philadelphia Flyers. But with one season left on his 6-year, $5M AAV contract, he is eligible for an extension this offseason, and the big question around the City of Brotherly Love is Will the Flyers show Konecny the love? 

Formal negotiations have not begun, but according to Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period, "loose discussions" have been had, and the early indication is that the Konecny camp is asking for what many would consider an insane figure. 

As one league executive described to me, (lead agent Pat) Morris (and Newport agency) will "go for the jugular" in contract negotiations. So when one person told me that Morris and Co. may be looking for an AAV in the $10 million and up range over an eight year max term when it comes to Konecny... it did not shock me in the least. As far as I know to this point, it appears that's where the ask is starting on the side of the player.

For some context, DiMarco presented another player in the Morris/Newport stable that they're representing, and indicated that for UFA Elias Lindholm, they were asking north of $9 million AAV for him to stay in Calgary (before the trade to the Vancouver Canucks). As DiMarco notes, "you'd be hard-pressed to find objective third parties to think he is worth that type of money."

As for Konecny, the former first-round pick, now 27 years old and in his prime, he's recorded five seasons of 24 goals or better, and a total of 276 points in 331 games over the past five seasons with the Flyers, a 0.83 points-per-game mark. Very solid indeed. But $10M AAV solid? A 100% raise solid? 

The Flyers' "comfort zone" is reportedly in the $8M - $8.5M range. 

Sounds like there's some ground to cover, and due to that, we've even started to hear Konecny's name in trade rumors. Should be an interesting summer in Philly.

Photo:  Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports